By Tanya Robbins
"Belly dancing is a fun activity to increase your cardiovascular stamina,
firm your muscles and improve your flexibility." That's the description of
a belly dancing class offered at our local community center that my friend
Virginia told me recently.
She has been successful losing weight; she's now very energetic and wants
to exercise more to keep the weight off. However, she also wants to do
something exciting or otherwise, she would lose interest and slack off.
She says yoga and other activities at the gym are too boring. She believed
joining a belly dancing class was the answer but kind of reluctant to do
it by herself.
So Virginia asked me if I would be willing to take the belly dancing
lessons with her. The classes were offered 2 nights a week for 6 weeks,
and held from 6:30 to 7:30pm. I thought taking belly dancing lessons would
be a lot of fun but the time was over the dinner hour and I would need to
be home with my daughter. So I told her I was really sorry to not be able
to join her.
She also tried asking some of her co-workers to take the belly dancing
classes with her but none of them seemed too thrilled about wearing
costumes that show their bellies, twirling scarves and clinking together
cymbals. Needless to say, my friend was a bit disappointed.
As
luck would have it, a couple of months later Virginia showed up at the
store where I work acting very excited. She said, "Tanya, guess what!
They're offering another belly dancing class. This time the lessons will
be on weekends, every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 4 to 5. Will you
join me this time? Please, I'm really counting on you, girl!"
Well, how can I say no to that? ;) So the very next day we went to
register for the belly dancing class. To my surprise, Virginia managed to
recruit one of her co-workers who happened to be rather shy. I wondered
how long that girl would stay in the belly dancing class.
When we registered we were told we needed to buy belly dancing outfits and
scarves, while they would provide the cymbals. Our attire included a belly
dancing costume of our choice, a scarf, and an optional pair of soft shoes
or sandals. The instructor said we could attend classes in bare feet if we
so chose since many belly dancers enjoy dancing barefooted and connect
with mother earth, and historically belly dance is performed barefoot. I
was really excited about that since I'm a barefoot girl who is all about
connecting with mother earth.
On the first day of our belly dancing class Virginia and I were both
barefoot but her shy co-worker wore sandals since she didn't want to get
her feet dirty. I felt great wearing my belly dancing costume. My
nose
ring, belly button ring, and toe rings complemented my outfit.
The first lesson was pretty exciting. We were taught some basic belly
dancing moves. The scarves helped us get into the flow of the music which
included some drum beats. We also used finger cymbals to help keep the
beat for some of the belly dancing segments.
They shot movies of us belly dancing which they would later make into
DVD's. Pretty cool! Virginia's friend didn't have too many comments about
the belly dancing lessons. She said it was a totally new experience to
her. Well, it was to all of us as a matter of fact.
However, 3 weeks into the belly dancing class she was really getting the
hang of it surprisingly! She was very supple and confident in her
movements and was very comfortable twirling her scarf around to the beat
of the drum, and clinking her cymbals. She also smiled a lot. Everyone
commended her.
Oh, she also shed her sandals! She said it was lot easier and more
comfortable to belly dance in bare feet. She didn't mind getting her feet
a little dirty since she could always wash them later. She danced with the
music with such grace, awing all her friends and co-workers that came to
watch. It was amazing how belly dancing lessons had improved her
confidence and self esteem.
We all had so much fun that before we knew it, we were reaching the end of
our belly dancing class. We all had toned our muscles over the course of
the lessons, and Virginia's shy co-worker had become more out going. The
instructor was hoping that the students would continue with belly dancing
as an on-going source of exercise. She said having the outfits should
motivate us.
On our last day of class we put on a sensational belly dancing show for
our friends and family whom we invited. My mom and my daughter were there
and they were impressed. My daughter said she wanted to take belly dancing
lessons too! Virginia's relatives and friends were equally inspired.
Then something rather amazing happened. About a month after we completed
our belly dancing class, I got a call from Virginia telling me that she
and her shy co-worker (who was no longer that introverted) had accepted a
part time job belly dancing at a Middle Eastern restaurant by the beach!
I was simply stunned but very happy for both of them. Should I follow in
their footsteps? Hmmm… that's certainly something for me to think about,
and I'll let you know what I decide ;)
Belly dancing does have many benefits. It gives women the opportunity to
make new friends, celebrate the joy in music, develop self confidence
through artistic self expression, and last but not least, it helps create
and maintain a strong, healthy body. So if you're considering taking belly
dancing lessons, I'd say go for it!
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